Greenfield to replace streetlights with LEDs

GREENFIELD — The town has received close to $200,000 from the state to replace its street lights with energy-saving LED lights.

Mayor William Martin said the $199,754 the town received from the state Department of Energy Resources will be used for the upgrade to all town street lighting, as well as a couple of other energy-saving projects.

“I am very grateful to DOER and the Patrick Administration for this grant, which will enable the town to leverage an additional $298,304 in utility incentives to complete almost $500,000 of energy savings and great projects,” said Martin. “The upgrades are expected to save the town close to $70,000 in annual energy costs and will be installed at no cost to Greenfield.”

Martin said he is happy that DOER has again acknowledged the energy-saving work the town is doing as one of the state’s Green Communities and its commitment to being a leader in sustainability.

In April, the town replaced 407 of its Cobrahead street lights, the larger street lights, with energy-saving and superior-performing LED lights. He said about $65,000 of the grant money will be used to replace the town’s remaining 755 streetlights.

“All the feedback the town has received has been very positive,” said Carole Collins, the town’s energy and sustainability director, referring to the first round of streetlight replacements.

The town will also spend about $105,000 of the grant to upgrade all downtown decorative lights, the large, historic acorn lights on iron bases, to LED, which will not only save energy, but improve night safety for pedestrians by improving visibility for drivers.

Also, the town plans to spend $30,000 for attic sealing and insulation to Green River School, which is the town’s second largest energy consumer, according to Collins.

She said the town will be applying for another grant to replace the school’s aging heating system with a new renewable energy one.

“We are looking forward to turning this school from the second largest energy consumer into a clean energy showcase building,” said Collins.